The Weirdest Flight Delay I Have Ever Had…

Flight delays happen too frequently if I am being honest, and I have my fair share of them. However, earlier this summer, I had the weirdest flight delay involving rerouted flights when flying from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Here’s what happened:

This article is part of my Trip Report: Starting Summer in East Africa including:

• My Comically Bad Luck Flying to Africa
• No Compensation for an Involuntary Business Class Downgrade?!?
• Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge IAD
• Review: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge IAD
• Review: Lufthansa B747-8 Economy IAD-FRA 
• My First Flight on the Queen: My Thoughts
• Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge FRA
• Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge FRA 
• Review: Lufthansa A330 Business Class FRA-NBO
• Review: DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham
• Review: Air Kenya into the Safari
• JW Marriott Masai Mara Review: Luxury in the Savannah, a Truly Unforgettable Safari
• Is the JW Marriott Masai Mara Worth $3k a Night?
• Review: Aspire Lounge Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta (NBO)
• Review: Kenya Airways NBO-ZNZ E190
• Exploring Tanzania: My Thoughts on Zanzibar
• When Flights Don’t Go as Planned: Delayed in Zanzibar
• Review: Air Tanzania ZNZ-ARK
• Mt. Kilimanjaro Day Hike: My Thoughts
• Exploring Moshi, Tanzania: What Everyone Gets Wrong
• Review: Twiga Lounge by Aspire Lounge Kilimanjaro International Airport
• Weirdest Flight Delay I Have Ever Had… 
• Review: Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa Executive Regency Suite
• Exploring Addis Ababa: My Thoughts
• Review: Ethiopian Cloud Nine Business Class Lounge Addis Ababa
• Review: Ethiopian Cloud Nine B787-8 Business Class ADD-IAD
• My 18 Hour Odd Business Class Experience: A Stop in Lome, Togo?

Preface

On an evening departure, I was scheduled to fly from Kilimanjaro Internation Airport (JRO) to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) on Ethiopian Airlines. However, Ethiopian occasionally operates the route not simply from Kilimanjaro but from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro and then on to Ethiopia. 

Given that this was the best flight, not only by time but by availability and duration, I booked it without thinking anything of the incoming connection from Zanzibar. 

The Weirdest Flight Delay

If you could not imply where this was going, the flight got stuck in Zanzibar. I am not entirely sure what happened, but all I know from watching the plane online is that it left the gave and began taxiing but never took off. 

The plane had yet to land in Kilimanjaro by the time of our departure or even take off from Zanzibar, so I was beginning to get worried it would not happen. Roughly 20 minutes later, an Ethiopian Airlines agent approached us in the lounge and informed us that the flight had been delayed about 45 minutes.

She let us know that because the Zanzibar flight could not pick us up, another would be coming to pick us up. She told us to eat quickly because the plane flying from Maputo International Airport to Addis Ababa was not expecting additional passengers and would not have any food. Maputo Airport is in Mozambique, which is about a 6-hour flight. 

This is the first I have heard of a flight rerouted to pick up passengers from another country before continuing on. If the flight had landed in Tanzania and had not been able to take off again for whatever reason, all of the existing passengers would have been stuck without visas in Tanzania.

The Last Point

While I was thrilled to arrive in Addis Ababa only about an hour late, I was surprised by the move of Ethiopian to reroute one of their other flights and divert it to Kilimanjaro. It was undoubtedly creative and saved the day for the many passengers trying to reach Ethiopia or connect onwards. 

What would you have done if you were Ethiopian Airlines? Is it worth the risk of landing in another country to help the currently stranded passengers?